In the late 1980’s, following the closure of coal pits, a rail manufacturing depot and various other local industries, North Doncaster found itself in the unenviable position of being named as one of the most economically deprived communities in the UK.

|PIC1|Unemployment became so endemic that it was common to find three generations of the same family without work. The poverty was crippling – a high percentage of young people leaving school with little hope of ever finding employment. Something had to be done.

Wildwood, an imaginative initiative growing out of some of the local churches, was one response to the problem.

Wildwood is dedicated to reclamation. On the face of it the project restores unused or broken furniture as well as manufacturing new pieces from discarded and damaged wood. But beyond that Wildwood exists to reclaim and restore people who have found themselves on the scrap heap of unemployment. So, by offering training courses in a range of skills such as woodwork, upholstery and French polishing, the project not only produces quality furniture but also develops highly qualified and employable staff. In fact, Wildwood turns out such skilled wood workers that a number of local timber merchants regularly approach them for their recruitment needs, rather than advertising vacant positions more widely.

Steven, for example, was a miner at Barnburgh colliery until 1989 when it was suddenly closed and he found himself redundant. Before he signed up with Wildwood in June 1998, he had been through various re-training courses, but had found to his cost that they repeatedly failed to result in any hope of long-term employment. However, at Wildwood he was able to complete an NVQ Level 2 in Wood Occupations, go on to gain a Certificate in Health & Safety and after a year find himself in paid employment for the first time in years.

|TOP|Steven has subsequently gone on to pass a further NVQ in woodwork and is presently studying upholstery and furniture restoration. He has also been able to develop a specialism in French polishing, a skill he learned from one of Wildwood’s volunteers, Terry – a craftsman with over 40 years experience. Steven’s self-confidence has been given a huge boost – he is now a fully trained professional keeping alive the traditional skill.

But perhaps the best news about Wildwood, is that it has both understood and begun to grapple with a key issue which faces the majority of charities – the question of how to build an enterprise culture. Though initially Wildwood, like most other charities in their early days, was almost completely dependent on grant funding from the government’s Single Regeneration Budget and various other sources, its directors have worked very hard to build its financial stability. Now a significant percentage of its revenue is generated annually from its training courses, the products it manufactures (such as a long-term contract for fencing a large local estate) and the much sought after, high quality, restored furniture that the trainees produce.

Though not totally self-funding, Wildwood is well on the road to commercial viability and the security of the stability that brings.





[This article first appeared in May 2004]


[Rev Steve Chalke MBE is the founder of Oasis Trust, Oasis Media, Parentalk, Faithworks Movement and is senior minister of Christ Church & Upton, the Church.co.uk centre, Waterloo, London. He was ordained as a Baptist Minister in 1981, having studied at Spurgeon’s Theological College in London. Steve has presented his own television series for ITV and BBC as well as a regular show on Radio 4. He is also the author of over 30 books, and was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2004 for his services to social inclusion.]